What do you think of ppl with multiple degrees/qualifications etc?

[lapitup]

What do you think of a person when you hear they have a more than average amount of degrees/postgrads/masters etc and qualifications?

Do you think...good for them,they must be smart,have ambition, drive etc!

Or.

Do you think...god could they not make their mind up and/or stick to something??

‘A piece of paper’ - so you rock up and the give you your degree? Bugger that, I actually worked for mine. And the fees in England have been around for how many years - were they worthless before that too?

I’m ‘learning’ so much... some degrees don’t count, some colleges don’t count, they give degrees away in Scotland...

[quote Malachite234]@SueEllenMishke

Jam making was somewhere in Scotland.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with drama, but why go to university? Why not go to a performing arts school ?

In Scotland you don’t pay fees, so a lot of people don’t give much thought to further education, they just want the piece of paper. This devalues degrees in general and saturates the job market.

School careers advisors are awful and we are conditioned to think the academic do degrees and the technical courses/apprenticeships are for people who drop out of school at 16. This simply isn’t true and many people who have done a degree would have been better with the latter.[/quote]

Again, which university offers jam making? That's right .... there isn't one. It's a urban myth and can be found alongside basket weaving .

Drama schools and Drama courses at universities are pretty much the same thing.

Ah the old 'school careers advisers are crap' line. I was a careers adviser in a school and I now train them. Since the late 90's successive governments have decimated the career guidance sector to the point that the chance of someone actually seeing a qualified guidance professional is incredibly low. ..... thanks Michael Gove and your 'anyone can offer careers guidance' therefore I'll remove all funding from schools as well as the supporting statutory requirements.
The situation is changing and there is real progress being made but it's taking us a while to undo 20 years worth of damage.

Well if there was a jam making one I would have got that when I was 4 - my grandma was a cook and showed me how to pick my own berries and make jam (and tarts).

I have friends with multiple degrees who knew what they wanted to be / do from early on, so each degree was a natural progression for them. I really admire this and sometimes wish I had that same vocational calling.

Then there's the others who just wanted to prolong being a student - most of these friends openly say they just didn't want to get a real job 😂 others are still making their minds up and think the answer is at the end of another qualification... each to their own!

I personally couldn't justify the expense of higher education these days if I wasn't fully committed to the pathway in a meaningful sense. Undergrad was enough for me and it isn't even related to what I do now.

It depends what they're doing around them.

If someone studies a lot and has held down a job then I think 'good for them'. They're doing what makes them happy in life. If they enjoy studying then who has any right to sneer or judge?If they've done lots of qualifications to advance their career then I think 'good for them'.

If they've been in and out of university, not holding down a steady job and keep changing their mind all the time then the only time I'd be bothered is if I was recruiting for a job because I'd worry about their ability to stick something out.

@Malachite234 "( sorry if I offend anyone)"

Yeah. You did. But you knew that didn't you?

Goady as fuck!

Have a

Scottish student numbers are capped, there’s a lot of competition for those places. No Scottish students I know “just wanted a piece of paper” and no it doesn’t “devalue their degrees”.

I was always under the impression that it was harder for Scottish students to get a university place for this reason.

DD has some (English) friends at Scottish universities. They all got there through clearing, and have lower grades than their Scottish counterparts.

So, my question is, do Scottish universities offer lower grades to English students because they have to pay tuition fees?

On the topic of Mickey Mouse degrees ( sorry but this is a particular bugbear of mine) what people need to realise is that it's not easy to get a degree programme validated.
It's not a case of a single academic setting up something they're interested in and hoping students will turn up!

There is a whole validation process which includes a shit load of market research which includes employability prospects and labour market information. No university will validate a course that is unlikely to attract students and is unlikely to produce good employment statistics at the end. Once a course is validated these are continued to be looked at and a course the fails to attract students and has poor employment figures will be shut down - my university has a 3 strike rule. You're allowed one poor year but if you then fail to have two consecutive good years you're gone.

@SueEllenMishke

Degrees that are easy to get, in theory at least, so you can doss around a bit and live the ultimate student life without actual academics getting in the way too much. Generally not too helpful in terms of getting an actual job.

Wrong and ignorant

Well, that's what people mean when they refer to them. Someone asked for a definition, I provided one, don't shoot the messenger. You'll notice I didn't provide any examples.

Graduate schemes allow pretty much anyone with a decent degree to get a fairly well-paid career regardless of subject. Some are harder to convert to a related career than others though, and some have far less contact time involved than others.

Apparently, general studies is considered a Mickey Mouse A-level subject, which to be honest seems like a fair assessment of it to me.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mouse_degrees

Apologies fourplasticrings people using the term Mickey Mouse degrees really winds me up.

I'm a career guidance professional so have a real working knowledge of the graduate labour market. 70% of if graduate jobs don't specify a degree subject they just want applicants to have studied at degree level. For example, a number of the top accountancy firms will specifically target history graduates.

Don’t know. If they have 17 degrees in unicornology, the history of the wedding ring, how to close a door, sandwichology etc I just wonder why they have been allowed to use my taxpayers cash to fund such useless pointless drivel that’s of no use to man nor beast. Also, oaps get some sort of free funded educational degrees etc so whilst our kids need educating, some folk are just constantly year on year taking places cos they’re free and it stops them being bored. Even though they will never use them. Plus many highly educated people can’t find subject appropriate jobs anyway and end up doing something else.......... there’s a lot to be said for life experience. A piece of paper isn’t always going to make your prospects better...... it’s tough out there....

My OH had 3 degrees - in his case he was trying to avoid the world of work!

Don’t know. If they have 17 degrees in unicornology, the history of the wedding ring, how to close a door, sandwichology etc I just wonder why they have been allowed to use my taxpayers cash to fund such useless pointless drivel that’s of no use to man nor beast.

Firstly, this makes you sounds like a judgemental snob . Secondly, people can't get funding for degree after degree so the tax payer aren't paying for people to do 17 worthless degrees.

There are people on this thread who could do with a little more education

I have a phd in computer science but also recently did an MA part time in history for fun and because I wanted to do something different. I did it in my own time and paid for it myself.

I think they are very lucky. I have a English degree and studying for a MA and I am very lucky to be in the position to study for the MA. I don't think I am smarter than anyone else for doing a MA. I would love to do a BA in another subject however it's unlikely now as it very expensive.

Depends if they were working whilst studying. I know someone with multiple degrees in various subjects. She just wanted to continue being a student and not get a job. Her DH finally got sick of being the only wage earner in the family and told her she had to start earning and contributing to the family.

So, my question is, do Scottish universities offer lower grades to English students because they have to pay tuition fees?

Scottish student numbers are capped because the Government covers the £1800 per year fees, rUK students pay £9250 and non-EU overseas students pay more. Uni finances will dictate that a certain level of fee income is required.

there’s a lot to be said for life experience. A piece of paper isn’t always going to make your prospects better......

Try rocking up to an engineering consultancy and tell them that your “life experience” trumps the other candidate’s MEng.

@SabrinaThwaite

there’s a lot to be said for life experience. A piece of paper isn’t always going to make your prospects better......

Try rocking up to an engineering consultancy and tell them that your “life experience” trumps the other candidate’s MEng.

Ha! This. Most degrees include the opportunity for work experience anyway .... at my uni all students are offered this so.

A well qualified, experienced professional- that's what employers want.

*offered this now

Also, some of these supposed 'degrees' are actually short modules or course components on much bigger degree courses.

And I can imagine that there may well be 'history of the wedding ring' somewhere as part of a highly regarded degree strand in Anthropology & Semiotics. Why not? University is about more than learning, it's about keeping knowledge alive and vibrant.

Err - Also, oaps get some sort of free funded educational degrees etc so whilst our kids need educating, some folk are just constantly year on year taking places cos they’re free and it stops them being bored

Is there a link or some details on this scheme for OAPs? Currently looking to do a MSc and would love to get it paid for rather than come out of my savings.

@mostlydrinkstea

Three degrees here which are an undergraduate one, one for my profession and a post grad in the same area because it was interesting and I had the time. Occasionally I look at whether I might do a PhD but life is too short and I really, really hate referencing.

What about it, @mostlydrinkstea

Have you looked at Mendeley etc? You enter all your references into it, by just clicking from when you’re in the reference. Then you add it to where you want in your document. It then makes a list at the end. If you insert and extra ones it corrects all the numbering through the document and the list at the end.

*any